Random Thoughts On... Ultimate Spider-Man Post-Bagley through Ultimatum

I’ve been looking at the blog lately, and I just realized that it’s been along time since I’ve talked about any Spider-Man. Yeah, I may have mentioned him in one post or another, but 2018’s still a long time. Right now, the third MCU Spider-Man movie has been released, and… I haven’t seen it. Yeah, I’m that behind on Spider-Man these days. I still haven’t seen Far From Home, though that could be due to not caring about the Wall-Crawler these days and the fact that it ain’t on Disney Plus. I’ve heard good stuff about No Way Home, so I may see it… someday.

Today, I thought I would return to the world of the pretty defunct Ultimate Universe. A few years ago, I went through an adventure of sorts. I reviewed Ultimate Spider-Man from the beginning to Mark Bagley’s departure from the book. I can safely say that it was an awesome run. Last year, I finally decided to see what the rest of the first run of Ultimate Spider-Man looked like. I started the Bendis/Immonen run and pretty much got to Ultimatum, the event that changed the Ultimate Universe for more ill than good. I actually skipped ahead and read more after that event like Hickman’s Ultimate Avengers.

Today, I’ll just be listing my thoughts on this run of issues. The issues will be Ultimate Spider-Man #112-133, Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3, and Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem. Of course, Brian Michael Bendis is the writer of all of these issues. While Stuart Immonen started his run on the book in #111, he ends up doing his first full issue with #112. Immonen’s been all over the place working on characters like Superman, the X-Men, and many others. Wade von Grawbadger joins the crew as the inker for the book. Grawbadger was one of Immonen’s usual inkers and stays on the book during his duration. The Annual was drawn and inked by David LaFuente, the artist that took over after Ultimatum. Mark Bagley returns to draw some pages in the Requiem mini.

Trade Tales! - Astonishing X-Men: Torn

Next up is a return to Joss Whedon’s and John Cassaday’s Astonishing X-Men run. It really has been a while since I looked at the first two trades… a long while. I was always meaning to get to this one, but other things kept getting in the way. I guess this was the right time to do this one since Whedon’s name has been thrown around because of his time on Justice League. No, I won’t be discussing the Snyder Cut here… yet (wink, wink).

Anyway, tonight’s trade is Torn… the title, not the trade itself. It contains Astonishing X-Men #13-18. The creative team was pretty much the same with Whedon doing the story, Cassaday doing the art, Laura Martin doing the colors, and Chris Eliopoulos handling the lettering. Around this time, I remember that the book was starting to be delayed. I know it got worse as time went along. I don’t if it had to do with the process or with things changing for the X-Men at Marvel. This was released around the time Decimation, the era where only 198 mutants were left on Earth. So, what happens when the Hellfire Club “returns?”

Astonishing X-Men: Torn

Writer: Joss Whedon

Artist: John Cassaday

Colors: Laura Martin

Letterer: Chris Eliopoulos

Associate Editors: Nick Lowe and Sean Ryan

Editor: Mike Marts

 

Random Thoughts On... House of X/Powers of X

Other titles for this post were the following:

• Random Thoughts On… Jonathan Hickman having his way with the X-Men Books
• Random Thoughts On… wondering what the crap Jonathan Hickman is doing with the X-Men Books
• Random Thoughts On… Jonathan Hickman returning to Marvel to do some more greatness
• Random Thoughts On… Jonathan Hickman flirting with your mother, your ex, your current spouse, and rebuilding two houses while helming the X-Men books for the foreseeable future

Okay, that last one was a stretch.

Next up for the month, I thought I would come to the present and get back to the X-Men. It’s been a minute since I’ve talked about Marvel’s “Merry” Mutants. One of these days, I’ll actually watch Dark Phoenix (I got it for my sister for Christmas), but today is not that day. I got two posts planned for them this month. While one is in the more usual mode for the team (psychics and aliens, ‘yo!), this is one that is definitely different for the team and mutants as a whole.

Erik may be wearing white, but that mouth hasn't changed.

During March 2019, Marvel announced that Jonathan Hickman would be returning to Marvel. Hickman’s done quite a bit for the comics industry. He’s done quite a few books for Image Comics like East of West, The Manhattan Projects, and The Nightly News. During his time at Marvel, he did a lot of stuff like working in the Ultimate Universe and having long runs with Fantastic Four and the Avengers. He also helmed events like Infinity and the new Secret Wars. He even helped write a couple of issues of Avengers vs. X-Men.

I pretty much like his runs on Secret Warriors, New Avengers, Avengers, and Secret Wars. Him coming to X-Men definitely made me curious. I tried to get back into the X-Men for a few times over the years, but I never stuck for whatever reason. I mostly stuck around on the recent Uncanny X-Men book, but it just felt like the same old stuff. I know that the X-Men have to protect a world that hates and fears them, but that can get tiring especially when the real world is also looking like that. Suddenly, Hickman comes in promising something new, and it got me interested in what will happen next.

So... what's going on here?

Hickman started his X-Men run with two miniseries: House of X and Powers of X (10). They were released weekly from July 2019 to October 2019. One week, you’d get HOX. The next week, POX would be released. Hickman wrote both books. Both books had different artists. On HOX, we had Pepe Larraz on pencils and inks. For POX, R.B. Silva did the share of pencils and inks while Adriano Di Benedetto helped with additional inks. So, why in the #### did Professor Xavier team up with Magneto and decide to form a sovereign mutant nation?

House of X

HOX pretty much sets the new status quo for the X-Men and mutants in general. To keep it simple (and somewhat spoiler-free), Professor Xavier, Magneto, and Moria McTaggart (it’s a long story) end up forming a sovereign mutant nation on Krakoa. Any and all mutants are invited to live there. The only way to the island is to use these custom-made gateways that are parts of Krakoa. These gateways are all set up all around the world. Some surprising mutants even get an invite to Krakoa. They’ve also even set up imports and exports of pharmaceutical drugs that can help humanity.

And he's back...yeah, I think Scott Summers is a BAMF.

While things seem to be pretty nice for the mutants, the X-Men are still going to do their thing in protecting themselves from enemies of mutants. A new human enemy enters the fray: ORCHIS, a rogue anti-mutant group that’s composed of former members of Marvel organizations. When the X-Men get word that ORCHIS is up to no good in space, Xavier has Cyclops assemble a team to stop the plan they’re hatching. They succeed in their mission, but it comes at a cost…, or so that’s what we’re to believe at first. Let’s just say that death may not be too final.

Xavier and the others also set up their own government with its own rules. We find out personally happens when one breaks one of their three cardinal rules. I’ll just say that it’s Sabertooth. That jackass has to always make trouble for folk, ya know? Anyway, after all the business is settled up and… Cyclops team “returns”, we get to have a little ‘ole rave. Luckily it’s not bland and off-putting like the one from the Matrix Reloaded.

Powers of X

POX shows how the new status quo came about and why it’s ended up being the way it is. We also get three other timelines, and we see how they play into the present day know as X1-Year 10. X0-Year Zero is pretty much the past. It shows Moira and Xavier setting their plan into motion over the years. X2-Year 100 shows a post-apocalyptic future for the X-Men… a usual thing. Machines have taken over Earth, and only a few Mutants are left standing to fight. The final timeline is X3-Year 1000. In this era, humanity has evolved even further with machines while what’s left of the mutants is in a literal zoo. I ain’t going to spoil all of this, but just know that ‘ole Moria is the key in all four timelines.

OPINION

This was a pretty great read. When you got me wanting to come to the LCS every week to pick up an issue, you’re doing something right! When I heard Hickman was coming to the X-Men, I already was getting ready for what might come. I didn’t expect this, though. Talk about changing the game for the X-Men and mutants as a whole. That first issue pretty much lets you know that things have changed. You got Magneto in white, Xavier looking even more shady (and kinda dressed up like the Maker, a Marvel villain), Logan laughing with kids, Jean Grey in her old Marvel Girl outfit for some reason, and Cyclops being an ass to the Fantastic Four. It’s awesome!

The X2 timeline was a pretty interesting one.

Hickman does some retconning with this new venture and you can look at Moira McTaggart as the big change. It’s revealed her that she’s a mutant who basically reincarnates into her own body and resets the timeline. You find out that she lived ten lives as herself with the current day being the 10th one. In her issue, you pretty much find out why she’s done all of this for Xavier. With the island, they end up doing some really crazy stuff. The pharmaceuticals is probably the least crazy thing the mutants do here.

At that moment... Xavier learns that Moira is into a lotta things... oh my.

One of the things I really like about it all is how much thought goes into the island itself. It’s not just  another Asteroid M scenario. A lot of thought gets put into how this island will function and operate. A government gets set up, they get imports/exports set up, and they even get some custom laws set up. With their new status quo, they gotta set up some new rules. Another that was pretty cool was Hickman’s info dumps. Anything he couldn’t explain in the story gets thrown into a page of text. Luckily, most of it is actually interesting to read since you get the idea that he’s setting up more for the future there.

The buzz on this image and a couple of other things involving these three has been funny.

Seeing the various timelines was also a treat. It was cool to see how Xavier went around to pretty familiar characters to get the house set up. The X2 timeline was particularly interesting since you not only saw a couple of familiar faces, you also saw combinations of certain characters lumped into one person. We also got one of the funniest and scariest Sentinels in Nimrod. For a robot, That dude was all over the emotional spectrum. The final timeline, X3, was just okay. You really don’t know why we’re here until the last issue. Before that, it’s just some weird stuff involving the Phalanx, the X-Men’s version of the Borg.

I wasn't the biggest fan of the X3 timeline, but the ending makes up for it.

The artwork is pretty good all-around. Larraz did an awesome job with House of X, and Silva did great with Powers of X. There’s really nothing bad thing I can say about the art here. It does what it needs to and then some. We got some new but familiar designs for all the X-Men. For example, we got Logan back in a classic suit, and Magneto looks awesome in white. I also liked how Krakoa looked in general. It’s like a weird organic and technological combination.  The only thing I do think is weird is that Jean’s back in her 70’s costume with the skirt. I wonder if there is a story reason behind that…

Overall, this was cool. The only issues I do have is that it can geta little too wordy at times. Also, that X3 timeline thing could’ve been handled a little better. Even those issues and any small nitpicks don’t hurt the overall story. This was a good start for this new era for X-Men. It helped me, someone who’s had a hard time getting into the X-Men in recent years, stay with an X-Men book. I’m only getting the main X-Men book for now, but that may change. Anyway, I’m off to read some Asimov. Until then, Peace, God Bless, and don’t tick off the really giddy Sentinel.

Favorites - Best Superhero Video Games

Soon, I'll be playing this game... 2020 sounds like a good year to start!

Since it is the end of the year and I’m working on setting up a new blog, I thought I’d finally do something with the drafts I got over here. I got some I recently put in and a few that have been drafts for years. It was about time to let these unfinished posts get their light of day. I even got one from like 2010 I haven’t even finished yet! I’ll get to that soon, but right now, I’m going to talk about some games.

Since I’ll be in an Assassin’s Creed binge for a bit, I haven’t gotten a chance to touch the latest Spider-Man game. Yeah, I said it. It sounds quite horrible, doesn’t it? I wasn’t too worried about this game since its publisher, Insomniac, does good stuff. In fact, most superhero games have been pretty good lately. I couldn’t say that years ago, though. I still haven’t gotten a good Superman game yet, but I’m praying for it, dang it! Yeah, folk pray about sport teams, so I might as well pray about something that is pretty inconsequential to life but fun.

Years ago, an idea popped into my head: what are my favorite superhero video games? I know that I have a least played more than ten games based on superheroes. So, here is the list that’ll  cover games from all over the spectrum: old consoles, current-gen consoles,  arcade games, movie tie-ins, and independent stuff as well. I originally was going to only put 8 games on here since I’m not the most varied gamer, but I can thankfully put more on here these days. If they’re good and part of a series, I’m mentioning them too. This also isn’t in any order, but I will put my favorites at the top. First, here are some honorable mentions. These are ones I liked but never got to finish:

• Spider-Man 2 (PS2) – Yes, I know what you’re thinking. Spider-Man 2 is a good game, but I never finished the dang thing. That Mysterio boss battle always messed me up. It did do a lot of things right, though. it served as a good movie tie-in, it had the actors from the movie (Tobey MacGuire wasn’t too good if I remember), and it really made you feel like Spider-Man for the first time. Previous games did what they could, but this one surpassed them with the open-world aspect. Besides, I got a couple of other SM games for the actual list.
• Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (PS2) – I didn’t get to finished this one either, folks. I don’t know what happened. I know I rented it but this was around the time where time was scarce and I had no job. A man’s got to eat! Anyway, while my time with this game was short, this was fun. You got to run around as Hulk and cause a lot of destruction in your way. Heck, it’s in the title.
• Capcom’s Marvel series (PS1, PS3, etc) – Yeah, yeah, I know. While I don’t play many fighting games these days, I got Marvel vs. Capcom 3 around the house somewhere. Unfortunately, I’ve only put in about an hour of gameplay on it. Even though I haven’t finished that one, I still remember some of the others from the arcades and consoles. X-Men: Children of the Atom was a fun one as well Marvel Super Heroes. The one I remember the most and actually beat was X-Men vs: Street Fighter for the PS1. I may need to revisit some of these one day.

Random Thoughts On... Marvel's Secret Invasion

If you thought I was done with Not-so-Secret Invasion, guess again! It’s time to see if this event was worth taking up 8 months of real time. I guess I’ll start at the usual place: the beginning. Hopefully, this all makes some sense to the layman.

In the Beginning…

Secret Invasion as a concept was created by the event’s writer, Brian Michael Bendis. At this point, he had been the main event person for Marvel. He had stuff like Avengers Disassembled, Secret War, and House of M under his belt. He also revamped the Avengers into the New Avengers. He even had a small hand in Civil War.  This was when I really came into current comics stuff. I didn’t get much but I paid attention online. Marvel’s Message Boards (and DC’s too) were a help in that regard. That was how I kept up with Civil War and quite a few other books.

Talk about a shock for everyone.

Random Thoughts On... How the X-Men could be handled in the MCU

So, what is going on with the MCU lately? Avengers: Infinity War was just released digitally, so that’s nice. I’ll touch on it here soon. There’s that whole situation involving James Gunn (the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies) that I won’t touch upon that here. I think Twitter’s ran the gamut on that whole, weird topic anyway. Has something else happened recently that involves Disney making some big purchase with 20^th Century Fox-- Oh. Yeah. That did just happen.

On July 27^th, 2018, it was announced that Disney would be purchasing movie and tv assets from 20^th Century Fox. For those who don’t know, Fox has had the film rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four properties for years. This means that we may get those heroes and villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe soon. This was something that left folk pretty happy and a few folk kind of disappointed. As for me, I’m a little mixed since I mostly liked what Fox was doing with the X-Men franchise… mostly, mind you. I haven’t forgotten what happened in 2006 and 2009. You can also throw the FF movies in that lot since they weren’t that good either.

Folk have been constantly theorizing on how the X-Men and FF would fit in the MCU. Would they be fully integrated or left off on the side somewhere? Would Marvel continue what was laid out with Fox or would it be a straight-up reboot? I wasn’t thinking about that stuff too much myself, but my mind did lay out some possibilities. While I was walking in Kroger a couple of nights back, I was wondering how this could work if they did a full-on reboot with the X-Men. So, here are six things that I hope the creators take into account.

Favorites - Favorite Non-Star Trek Time Travel Stories

If there’s one trope in science fiction that’s been used as well as misused, it’s time travel. Heck, the Star Trek franchise has made time travel into a fine art. I’ve always liked time travel stories whenever they would show up in movies, TV, video games, and books. Sometimes, you’ll get the usual plot where someone is sent back in time to right a wrong. I’ll call that the “For the Future!!!” syndrome. Other times, someone messes up something that changes the present time. Then, we have the awesome “I’m trapped in a loop and I can’t get out!” plot. You get other ones along the way, but those are the ones that I tend to notice.

So, here is my list of favorite time travel stories from movies, TV, video games, and books. I thought about splitting this one up since there are a lot of movies, but I’ll just make this a long one. Besides, I can really only think of one game that really did time travel well. It’s not in any order but I will put the best up at the top. Since I couldn’t stop listing Trek episodes, they’re going on a separate list of their own. With all that said, “Allons-y!”

1. Terminator 2: Judgement Day

The Terminator franchise is pretty much the standard for good time travel stories… well, most of them. While the first movie is really good, T2 stands above it as being the superior movie. It was also the one I saw first since I didn’t see the first one until I was teen. T2 continues the story of Skynet, an AI from a dystopian future, sending a more advanced Terminator into the past to kill John Connor, the leader of the human resistance. This time, the human resistance sends its own reprogrammed Terminator in order to protect John and his mother, Sarah.

Everything about the movie is good. The story is great, the action is awesome, and the characters are cool. This movie showed that Arnold Schwarzenegger could actually emote. Ed Furlong was fun as John and Linda Hamilton rocked as Sarah Conner. Robert Patrick was really cool as the T-1000. He was really imposing villain. T2 did everything a sequel should do and more. If only they stopped there, though.

Favorites – 12 Favorite Black Characters in Comic Books

You know, I really haven’t done much for Black History Month here. I tend not to do much in February anyway. Heck, I’d rather talk about us any other time. Why regulate blackness to one month anyway? Maybe I shouldn’t complain since a lot of history could and does get swept under the rug. It’s also possible that I’m just filling up space with this paragraph. After all, I’m usually a dude with few words.

Since it’s Black History Month and Black Panther is finally coming to theaters, it’s time to get to this post. I’ve wanted to do this for a while but never knew when to do it. While there aren’t many, there are some cool black characters in comics. While some of them aren’t necessarily my favorites, there are some I really like. I especially like when they’re actually well-written. I’d probably say that Marvel uses them better but DC has good ones too. So, here are some of my favorite Black characters from comic books. It’s also not in any order either. First, I have some honorable mentions:

• Bishop (Marvel) – Lucas Bishop’s up here mostly because he may be the second black superhero I ever ran across. For those who don’t know, he’s another X-Man from the future. I first saw him on the 90’s X-Men cartoon. I thought his power set (he can absorb energy and use that energy) was pretty cool. There’s also the fact that was one of the only X-Men who had sense to carry weapons. That being said, I was not a fan of what the writers did with the character around the late 2000’s. How can you turn one of the only black dudes on the X-Men into a villain? At least he’s not like that now.
• Falcon (Marvel) – Sam Wilson isn’t really one of my favorites. Guys who fly and can communicate with birds aren’t my thing. I also haven’t read much of anything with him in it. Still, I did like his turn as Captain America when he was written by Nick Spencer. Yeah, it’s the guy who made Steve Rogers into a fascist. We can’t all be perfect. Also, Anthony Mackie has been killing it in the MCU. Maybe he gets to wield a shield in a later movie?
• Black Lightning (DC) – Then, there’s DC’s first black superhero. As you can tell by the name, Black Lightning has power over electricity. I really didn’t see any of Jefferson Pierce until Infinite Crisis. He was pretty cool in Brad Meltzer’s run on JLA. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen much from him since then. I haven’t even gotten to watch the CW show yet. I’ve heard that it’s good, so here’s hoping I can get some more Lightning goodness there.
• Bronze Tiger (DC) – Ben Turner, aka Bronze Tiger, is pretty much in the antihero side of things. While he has been a villain (especially on CW’s Arrow), he’s sometimes a good guy. I talked about him last month. While I haven’t read a lot on him, I like what I’ve read so far. He’s just a dude who’s awesome at martial arts. That’s cool to me. If you saw what I was posting last month, you’d see that.

Favorites - 16 Characters Who Were Recast in Movies/TV

TV and movies can be a bit weird especially when they are serialized. One thing that is definitely a head-turner is when an actor replaces another actor in the same role. The thing that got me on this path was thinking about Harriett Winslow from Family Matters. I vividly remember Judyann Elder replacing the role that Jo Marie Payton had played for almost a decade. That’s just one I've noticed and I thought it was weird. I also saw it a lot on other shows too. Movies even go through this.

The reasons for actors replacing other actors can vary.  Some die during the role. Others get fired or just decide to quit. It can happen at the beginning, during production, or well on into the lifespan of the series. So, here are 16 characters who were recast for a show or movie series. I’ll even throw a game in this too. Hopefully, I can fit all that into a nice title for this post. I’ll only be doing shows and movies I’ve seen, so I’m sorry if I’m leaving your favorite one out. It’s also not in any order as well.

1. Vivian Banks (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) 

This is probably one of the most known recasts. Janet Hubert played Vivian on Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for three years. From what I heard and read, she and Will Smith didn’t get along. She supposedly violated her contract (she was pregnant at the time) and got ousted. After that, Daphne Reid was brought in to play Vivian for the rest of the show’s run. She was actually the first Vivian I remember seeing since I didn’t watch the show until the fourth season. She even got to play the part for three years, so it sounds a little equal, you think?

As for which version I liked better, I have to go with Hubert on this one. She seemed to have more of a bite to her. She also kind of got more to do than Reid did. The episode where she decides to go back into dancing is one of her coolest moments. Reid’s Vivian seemed to be more in the background at times. Even though she didn’t much to do, I did like her and she had some good moments. Still, the first Vivian did it for me.

Favorites - 11 Villainous Characters Gone Good

“Everyone loves a good redemption story.”

I don’t know who said the quote, but it's a true one. While we sometimes like seeing folk be bad, we also like seeing them go good. You can look everywhere for this common trope as well. This list was actually what started the whole thing. I didn’t have to think hard about which heroic figures have gone evil, though. I did have to put a little more thought into this one. While some names popped into my head easily, others took a minute. These aren't necessarily my favorite characters and it’s not in any order, so let’s start off with someone really random.

1. Sami Brady (Days of Our Lives)

I know you’re looking at me weird, so let me explain. When I was younger, my grandmother was an avid watcher of Days of Our Lives. Guess what we more or less had to watch at about 2pm? We didn’t have another TV, so I had to do something with that time! If you’re wondering, no, I’m not a DOOL fan. I haven’t watched the show in years. I do glance at it at the YMCA if it's showing, though. Even though I’m not a fan, I can say I got fond memories of it. Sami wasn’t necessarily one of them.

To put it nicely, she was one… witch. She was usually scheming to get some dude. I think one of them was named Austin. Even when she got the dude, she’d screw it up somehow. She was pretty much the jealous sister of the show. After some time, I do remember her becoming less of a witch and turning into a somewhat nice person. I guess the writers or actress got tired of that constant role of villainess. I don’t know if she stayed that way since soap operas are a lot like comic books. I can say that Alison Sweeney did a good job with that role. The fact that I remember her says something. 

2. Vegeta (Dragonball Z)

I think it’s time to swerve away from the odd and look at “The Prince of all Saiyans!” When Vegeta came onto the scene, he was a straight-up bad guy. No one can doubt that. I don’t think anyone can forget what happened to poor Nappa, aka “Mr. Clean with a ‘Stache.” Even after his time on Namek where he allied with the heroes, he wasn’t a good dude. Vegeta was obsessed with being better than Goku and he even did some really stupid things because of his Sayian pride. When you let the evil android get stronger instead of taking him out earlier, you’re not exactly good, are you?

Even when Goku returned for the World Tournament years later, he was still a douche. He let himself be taken over by Babadi (some green thing?) and went on a rampage. It wasn’t until his own son was in danger that he actually began to look heroic. He sacrificed himself to take out Majin Buu and even though that Pepto Bismal-looking thing didn’t die, it was a noble sacrifice. Like all characters in the DBZ universe, he did come back but he came back different. He even put an end to his rivalry with Goku.

Favorites - 10 Heroic Characters Gone Bad

“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy. That's how far the world is from where I am. Just one bad day.”

This quote from Batman: The Killing Joke says a lot about heroes or good people who go down a dark path. Sometimes, an event will happen in their lives that will irrevocably change them. Mostly, they can find the way to keep their wits and continue to fight the good fight. Heck, how has someone like Spider-Man not gone totally dark after what’s happened to him? Other times, they fall so far off the wagon, you wonder if they were even on the wagon to begin with. You’ll see this trope everywhere in movies, TV, books, and video games. So, here are some good characters that turned dark. They’re not necessarily in order either.

1. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars)

That’s right, folks. One of the best villains in movie history was once one of the good guys. It always has to start like that, don’t it? Even though the prequels weren’t perfect, they and Star Wars: Clone Wars showed how a “mostly good” Jedi would go evil. Because of Palpatine’s influence and Anakin’s own fears, he became Darth Vader and helped tighten the Empire’s grip for years. I’ll touch on his ultimate end next time, though.

Favorites - Best Animated Versions of the X-Men Part 2

Here are the rest of list from a couple days of ago. Not only are there heroes, but there are some villains.

Cyclops

If you think I’m not a fan of ‘ole Slim, you’d be mistaken. Someone cool had to start this part of the list off! Cyclops is more or less accurate in all three shows. The 90’s show is probably the one is most comic accurate since he’s leading the X-Men, married to Jean, ticking off Logan, and being a little uptight at times. On X-Men Evolution (EVO), Scott led the team into battle and was pretty cool at times. As for the Cyclops of Wolverine and the X-Men (WATXM), he was a little off the rocker. Since Jean was presumed dead, he quit the team and only came back because Logan asked him to. Even though he’s not leading the group, he does get a few moments to shine in the season.

It’s kind of easy to throw Scott in the “overbearing good guy who never breaks the rules” group. To be fair, it’s not a bad thing for him since I’d follow him into battle. The problem is that he really doesn’t come off as cool to most folk. While I liked Cyclops from the 90’s show, he was a little lame at times. Also, his voice actor was okay. Then, we get to WATXM’s Cyclops who was pretty much depressed all the time. I know he’s been at that stage in the comics too, but the creators go overboard with it on the show.

This is why I choose Cyclops from EVO. When re-watching the show, I really thought he was a cool guy. He could even have a little fun from time to time. You can’t say that about the rest of the Scotts. While throwing him and some of the others into high school was a weird move, I think it helped me like the character a little bit more. We got to see him grow into one into being a good leader. Yeah, he’s not butting heads with Logan over Jean (that would have been creepy…), but everything else worked.

Favorites – Best Animated Versions of the X-Men Part 1

You know, there is something missing from TV these days: an X-Men cartoon. While I can’t call myself an uber-fan of the X-Men these days, I can still say that they’re one of my favorite superhero teams. A lot of that fandom mostly stems from the many animated shows. Heck, I think I could almost recite a lot of the dialogue from the 90’s show’s first season. If only I could put that type of power towards something truly worthwhile…

Anyway, ever since Wolverine and the X-Men ended, we’ve seen less and less of them on TV. While the movies are still coming out and there are live-action shows coming, even I’ll admit that they get it wrong at times. The animated shows were able to capture more of what the X-Men were all about. Plus, they knew how to have fun and that is something the movies still struggle with. The X-Men (Wolverine at least) will pop in every so often on some Marvel show but that’s it. I think even Deadpool is supposed to get his own animated show. I bet someone’s happy about that!

So, what are these posts all about? A while back, I was wondering about which X-characters from the cartoons were done the best. I considered everything from the stories to even the voice-acting. Since most characters don’t crossover to different shows, I’m keeping the list to only a few heroes and villains. I’m also only including X-Men (the 90's show), X-Men: Evolution (EVO), and Wolverine and the X-Men (WATXM). I know there’s an X-Men anime from 2011 out there, but I’ve never seen it. Besides, something tells me that those versions of the characters probably wouldn’t make it on here anyway. Also, this isn’t a competition in which show was the best. I felt that these three shows had some great strengths as well as some unfortunate weaknesses.

Trade Tales! - Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 17: Clone Saga

Well, it’s May and you know what that means: Cinco de Mayo! Also, it’s Sci-Fi Month, a time where I pretty much praise (or wreck) one of my favorite fictional genres. This month is different in that this is the first time where I won’t be looking at any Star Trek shows or movies. I’ll still fit it in though. The thing I like about Trek is that it’s not just contained to movies or TV.

This time though is a return to the Ultimate Universe. I’ve been wondering when this day would come. Now that it’s here, I’m a little sad. I thought about ending this long look at Ultimate Spider-Man with the next volume but I may continue to its end. Besides there are really only a few volumes left in this iteration of the series. It does mean I will have to browse the horrible subject known as Ultimatum, but I’ll get to that stuff later.

Today's post is about the Ultimate Clone Saga. Now, my history with the Clone Sagas (Sagi?) is a little limited. I never read the original Clone Saga from the 1970’s. Back in the day, I did peruse a few issues of the pretty infamous 1990’s version at grocery stores. I know this may be sacrilege, but I kind of liked Ben Reilly. His costume was kinda cool. Hey, I had to do something while my mom was getting groceries! This trade also marks an important time for the series. Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley together made it past 100 issues. That’s actually pretty rare in the comic book industry.

This 9-part story takes place in Ultimate Spider-Man #97-105. As usual, Bendis does the writing. Bagley is on the pencils. Inks are handled by John Dell and Drew Hennessy. They also get some help from John Sibal and Matt Ryan. The colors were done by Justin Ponsor, Richard Isanove, and Andy Troy. The letters were done by Cory Petit and Chris Eliopoulos. The trade I have also has some interviews from Wizard Magazine with Bendis and Bagley. So, let’s see what happens when Spider-Man meets a crapton of people who look like him!

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 17: Clone Saga

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils: Mark Bagley

Inks: John Dell, Drew Hennessy, John Sibal, and Matt Ryan

Colors: Justin Ponsor, Richard Isanove, and Andy Troy

Letters: Cory Petit and Chris Eliopoulos

SYNOPSIS

Life for the Parker boy is a little complicated right now. He and Mary Jane Watson are talking again which leaves Kitty (the current girlfriend) understandably miffed. Then, there’s the fact that his lunch with MJ is ruined when the Scorpion wrecks it all. He changes into costume and not only has to subdue this new foe but also not get shot by the NYPD. When they’re alone together, Spidey removes Scorpion’s mask and finds out that he looks exactly like him. Meanwhile, MJ makes it home she is then kidnapped by someone who is later revealed to be a disfigured clone of Peter.

Since the villain literally has his face, Spidey knocks Scorpion out and takes him to the Fantastic Four. He also reveals his identity to the four (take a drink) and Johnny recognizes Peter from his time at Midtown High. Peter realizes it’s getting late, so he heads back home and finds out that MJ’s missing. He first heads to the warehouse where they’d sometimes hide out and instead finds a young woman in a spider costume. Thinking she’s behind MJ’s disappearance, he attacks her and is effectively taken out by her. After she checks his vitals, the girl leaves.

Peter wakes up and heads back to his house where he finds someone else who’s supposed to be dead: Gwen Stacy. She’s wondering what’s happened and remembers little. Then, Aunt May shows up and sees Gwen. Obviously, she flips out but Peter is able calm her down. He also tells her his secret about being Spider-Man. May angrily tells them both to leave but they then get another visitor: Richard Parker, Peter’s father. It turns out that he didn’t die on the plane crash. Agent Henry Gyrich of the FBI found him and had him working for their Research Dept. He’s also behind Gwen’s resurrection. Then, things go from bad to worse when SHIELD shows up outside. Reed Richards told Nick Fury about the clone since cloning’s illegal, so Fury and a legion of new Spider-Slayers have come to take Peter in.

Because of all of this, “Gwen” transforms into a symbiote-like creature (a lot like the one that killed her) and attacks SHIELD while May has a heart attack. This enrages Peter who also attacks SHIELD. Ultimately, they are both stopped. Then, the Fantastic Four show up and try to defend Peter. Sue Storm goes into the house and takes May and Richard to the hospital. Peter surrenders himself to SHIELD when the woman in the Spider costume (I’ll call Spider-Woman) shows up and takes Peter out of the area. She reveals herself to be a female clone of Peter and tells him everything about how she and other clones were created. She also tells him that one of the clones (I’ll call Kaine) may have kidnapped MJ. They end up heading to the disheveled Oscorp where it all began.

At Oscorp, they find Kaine, a multi-armed clone, and MJ who has been transformed into a Goblin creature. Kaine entered the OZ formula into MJ so she could protect herself. Seeing Peter causes her to transform back to normal and Peter knocks out Kaine. Suddenly, Nick Fury, the Fantastic Four, and SHIELD shows up and they have Otto Octavius with them. The Fantastic Four leave and take MJ back to their lab. It’s ultimately revealed that Octavius is the true creator of the clones and “Gwen.” They were created so that the FBI more could have super soldiers that weren’t under Fury’s hand. It’s also revealed that Richard Parker did die and that the man Peter met is another clone with fake memories. Kaine tries to attack him but is killed by SHIELD agents.

After hearing all is, Fury has had it with… well, Doc Ock and leaves Peter and the remaining clones to “deal” with him. Unfortunately, it’s revealed that Octavius actually has the power to control metal and creates new arms for himself. The multi-armed clone is killed but Peter and Spider-Woman are able to take Octavius down. Spider-Woman leaves while Peter stays and is eventually picked up by Johnny Storm. At Baxter Building it’s revealed that Reed and Franklin Storm were able to cure MJ. Peter professes his love for her and they kiss. Reed also reveals that they could also make Peter normal if he wanted to be. Peter ultimately declines the offer, though.

At the hospital, Peter finds out from Sue that his cloned dad has died of old age. Peter stays with Aunt May and is visited by Fury who apologizes for all that went down. After he leaves, May wakes up. Kitty (who got the X-Men to see what was going on) is in the hospital with Jean and wants Xavier to erase Peter’s identity from May’s mind. Xavier doesn’t do it and it turns out that’s it a good thing since May is glad to see Peter safe. In the end, Peter stays at MJ’s house while May is in the hospital. Kitty also finds those two kissing later too. Fury holds on to “Gwen” and Scorpion. Then, this Clone Saga comes to an end.

OPINION

So, what did I think of this 9-part saga? This thing was long but it doesn’t read like that. Other than that, this was really good in my opinion. Bendis really gets to put Peter through the wringer this time. Not only does he have your stereotypical teenage problems, he’s got problems with “The Man,”man! It was interesting to see Peter deal with all of the crap being thrown at him. I also liked seeing this concept modernized. It’s like Bendis grabbed every small idea from the other Clone Sagas and threw them into a blender with some octopus meat. It also felt like a nice continuation of all that came before in the series with Peter’s dad, Doc Ock, Oscorp, and Nick Fury.

The drama gets ratcheted up to 11 with the dead returning and May finding out about Peter’s secret. I did feel it was weird for May go rail on Peter like that when she found out. Luckily, it was only a moment of madness since she’s fine with Peter at the end of the story. I also liked the heroic additions to the story with the Fantastic Four playing a major role and the X-Men cameoing once again. Probably the best addition to the series is Jessica Drew aka Spider-Woman. She was actually pretty cool and she was even cooler than Peter was. It was also cool to see Doctor Octopus return in the way he did. The “Magneto” powers were weird but they did make sense in a way.

The artwork is pretty good overall. As usual, Bagley and team put in some good work. The quiet moments between everyone were pretty good. The action was awesome as usual. Seeing Peter and Spider-Woman tag team Doc Ock was pretty cool. I also liked the designs of the clones. They hearkened back to similar things we saw in the 616-universe. While I thought some of the art was a little sketchy at times (mostly the first issue), it was overall good.

I actually don’t have many problems with the story as a whole. I’ve said before that it’s weird for Peter to be the ultimate players of women’s hearts, but he is a teenager. Aunt May’s outburst felt pretty out of left field but when you consider all she’s gone through in the year, it makes sense. Plus, she’s accepted Peter at the end. I did think MJ turning into a Goblin creature herself was way out of left field though. Add the other weird elements of Gwen-Carnage and an aged Peter clone and you get one weird story.  At least it’s a well-written, well-drawn weird story that doesn’t get as weird as the 90’s Clone Saga was. It doesn’t take 3 years to complete either!

Unmaskings/Reveals of Spider-Man: 3

This time, we got 3 reveals of Spider-Man’s identity. I thought about including the FBI and their research team, but they’re a part of the government, so they already knew. The Fantastic Four find out Peter’s identity when he tells them at the Baxter Building. Later, Franklin Storm (Sue and Johnny’s dad) finds out his identity. Then, there’s Aunt May’s reaction to his identity. I’ll just leave it at three since that sound like enough to get drunk or gain calories on.

Uh... May? You okay? Missing your meds again?

Total Unmaskings/Reveals of Spider-Man: 18

HIGHLIGHTS

Finally, here are the highlights. While a lot of cool stuff happens, here are my favorite bits.

-Professor Xavier… is okay? – This occurs at the end where Kitty pleads with Xavier to erase Peter’s secret from May’s mind. Now this is an Xavier who isn’t a complete douche, Mark Millar! By the way, I know regular Xavier could be a d-bag too at times.

-Tag Team against Doc Ock – the fight between Peter, Spider-Woman, and Doc Ock was pretty cool.

-Meeting the Fantastic Four – It was about time he met up with the other four.

-Together Again – While Kitty being thrown to the curb is harsh, it is nice seeing Peter and MJ get back together.

 ……………………………………………………………………………..

Overall, this was a really nice arc. It definitely made up for the last few issues I’ve read. I felt the series had been a little off before this moment. Hopefully, this momentum continues from here. Well, I’ll stop here with my gushing over Ultimate Spider-Man. I do have something else coming later that involves Spider-Man and it may not be too good. Let’s just say that it involves skateboards, Emma Stone, a bewildered Jamie Foxx, and lizard cops. For now, Peace, God Bless, and watch out for my clone. He’s a bit… rough.

Trade Tales! - Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 16: Deadpool

Well, it’s April and we’re getting that weather everyone “loves.” For those who don’t know, that weather is a nice blend of wetness and wind. At least it’s warmer and the sun does shine from time to time. 

Before I get too bogged down in May (Sci-Fi Month), it’s time to return to Ultimate Spider-Man for a bit. So far, all’s been good for the most part. I do feel like the series has dipped a little at this point but it’s not dreadful. Today’s pick may test that, though. Ultimate Spider-Man: Deadpool contains Ultimate Spider-Man #91-96 and Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2. That second annual came soon, didn’t it. As usual, Brian Michael Bendis handles the stories for the trade. Mark Bagley is penciling the main series while Mark Brooks handles the Annual again. The inkers for this trade are plenty though.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 16: Deadpool

Writer:  Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils: Mark Bagley and Mark Brooks

Inks: Danny Miki, John Dell, Mark McKenna, Mark Morales, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jamie Mendoza, Victor Olazaba, and Mark Brooks

Letters: Cory Petit

Colors: Justin Ponsor, Richard Isanove, and Laura Martin

SYNOPSIS

“Deadpool”

The story starts out with Spider-Man and Kitty (in a masked costume) taking down a lame criminal called the Ringer. After some swinging and kissing, her automatic ride picks her up while Peter heads home. When Kitty makes it to the Mansion, she gets attacked by some of the X-Men. Before she gets knocked out, she sends the Blackbird to Peter’s house. Peter sees it, suits up, and has it fly him back the Mansion. Kitty meets him there but she then stuns him with a gun. It’s revealed the it was none other than Deadpool taking her form… huh.

Spidey then wakes up on a helicopter shackled with the other X-Men. Spidey and the X-Men then get dropped onto the island of Krakoa. It turns out that the government of Genosha has kidnapped the X-Men in order to get back at them. Spidey was just along for the ride. Spidey and the X-Men start out split up but eventually come together. It’s then revealed that this is being broadcast live around the world. It even has a swarmy announcer. Going against the X-Men are Deadpool and the Reavers, a cybernetic band of douchebags.

The X-Men and Spidey fight their way through the group. It takes some time, but the group is eventually beaten. Deadpool tries to get one more fight in but he is also taken out and unmasked. Let’s just say that the charbroiled version of him looks much better. The team makes it to the compound where Xavier is being held by the Ultimate version of Mojo. Luckily, all seems to be fine with Xavier since he gets to mess with Mojo off-screen. The heroes then head back to the States. The story ends with Peter getting home really late. Luckily, Aunt May decided to play hooky herself and spend the night with her date, Miles Warren. Duh duh duh!

(Note: Miles Warren doesn’t play into… well, you know…)

“Morbius”

The story starts out with a flashback to months ago. Spider-Man is chasing someone who is after someone else. It turns out that Blade, the Daywalker, is chasing down a vampire. Pete is almost bit when Blade grabs the vampire and takes it out. He then tells off Spidey and disappears into the darkness. We cut to present day where Ben Urich has proof of a vampire sighting. Unfortunately, he’s being blocked by Jameson. Peter want to say something but keeps it to himself. At school, Peter finds out MJ has seen he and Kitty together. He tries to keep it calm but MJ understandably sasses him out over it.

Peter, you suck with women. Also, nice Blue Beetle reference, Bagley. 

Later, Ben Urich tries to talk to his witness who was bitten by a vampire. Unfortunately, the chick bites him. Luckily, Spidey was tailing Urich and a fight breaks out between her, another vampire, and him. Also, Morbius shows up to apparently fight the other vampires. Spidey gets them all lumped together and the fight continues. The fight ends with Morbius taking on the other while Spidey gets Urich to a hospital.

Morbius: Also, put your mask back on, dummy!

Later, Morbius comes to Urich’s room and tries to bite him but Spidey stups him. It turns out that if Morbius bites Urich, that’ll counteract the other vampire’s bite and cure him. Spidey doesn’t believe it but their scuffle ends when other vampires come to get Urich. Peter even gets bit but luckily his radioactive blood keeps him from turning. Morbius kills the vampires  is able to cure Urich. The story ends at school. Peter (hiding his bite) and Mary Jane (who’s cooled down from yesterday) have a bit of a moment together.

“Annual #2”

The annual starts out with Spidey taking down the Shocker once again. Thanks to advices from lawyer,  Franklin Nelson, Spidey actually takes the lame criminal to the police department. There, he runs into Captain Jean De Wolfe who is secretly in cahoots with Wilson Fisk. She pulls Spidey aside and asks him to trail a recently released criminal by the name of the Kangaroo. The actual truth is that Kangaroo is encroaching on Kingpin’s territory. Spidey feels uneasy about this but does it anyway.

Spidey heads to the location and finds that he isn’t the only costumed nut after this guy. Daredevil is there beating the crap out of him. Then, the Punisher (who recently escaped from Ryker’s Island) joins the fun and fires a bazooka at the location. Then, Moon Knight (who just recently woke up from his coma) joins the fight. What I’m trying to say is that it’s all one big cluster—buster. Anyway, Daredevil isn’t exactly happy to see Spidey since Spidey’s still too inexperienced. Luckily, Spidey and Daredevil take down Punisher and Moon Knight leaves.

I'm kinda sad that we won't get this in the MCU.

Captain De Wolfe and the police come to apprehend Kangaroo. All seems good until Punisher breaks his bonds and shoots De Wolfe dead. Spider-Man finds him and starts to lay in on him but Punisher reveals that she was working for the Kingpin. Spider-Man and Daredevil get their butts out of there. The story ends with Daredevil finding Moon Knight at his base of operations. The story ends with Daredevil telling Marc Spector that he’s putting a team of costumed folk together to one day take down the Kingpin. Also, we see Fisk mourn for Jean De Wolfe.

"... and I'd like to invite you to our Avengers Initiative."

OPINION

So, what do I think of this one? I wouldn’t say it’s the least favorite, but I can’t say it’s the best either. There are good things here though. I thought it was cool that we get to see more of the Peter/Kitty relationship. We also get the other part that involves Mary Jane. It does make Peter seem like a bit of a douche but he is a dumb teenager, after all. It was also nice to see him actually team up with the X-Men this time. When he’s been around them, not much fighting’s been going on. Too bad it was against some lackluster villains.

Then, there’s the other two storylines. While I didn’t necessarily enjoy the Morbius story, it was nice to see the Ultimate versions of Morbius and Blade for a short time. I also liked that we got some more Daily Bugle action. It feels like it’s been a while since we’ve had that. The Annual was cool in that it’s a continuation the underworld shenanigans involving Kingpin. It was nice to see Daredevil (needs to switch to decaf), Punisher, and Moon Knight show up here. Just know that this is leading to something. Heck, Daredevil’s Nick Fury-like approach to Moon Knight at the end was definitely an example.

As usual, the artwork here is pretty good. While there were a lot of inkers in on the fun, it didn’t feel too different. Bagley did a good job as usual and Brooks handled the annual pretty well. As I said once before, their styles are a little different but fit the universe. The small quiet moments and the action scenes were pretty good. I also thought Kitty’s new costume was pretty good. I do have to say that some of the double pages in the first arc were a little muddled at points.

You can look up how he looks online. It is pretty bad.

The negatives are few but important. While the Spidey/X-Men team up was interesting, the villains were a bit lame. I really wasn’t a fan of Ultimate Deadpool. I barely like regular Deadpool and this version wasn’t an improvement. Basically, he’s “Anti-Mutant Bigot #119” to me. I also felt that team up was an issue too long. As for the Morbius story, it felt a bit shortened since we really don’t learn much about the vampires here. The Annual was fine but the flashbacks were a little weird at points. That being said, it’s not a bad trade. The good does outweigh the bad here.

Unmaskings/Reveals of Spider-Man: 1

Morbius unmasks him at the hospital in order to see the bite. Luckily no one’s around to see. Still, I have to give a point to the meter. At least it’s only 1.

Total Unmaskings/Reveals of Spider-Man: 17

HIGHLIGHTS

Finally, here are the highlights of the trade:

-Spidey and Kitty vs The Ringer – That was one lame villain! It was hilarious seeing the two tear him down like that.

-Blade cameo – While he wasn’t in the story much, it was cool to see Blade. I just imagined Wesley Snipes playing him.

-The Death of Jean De Wolfe – Her death was a bit of a shock and yeah, I know what happened to her original counterpart. Everyone’s reaction to it was interesting. What was more interesting was Kingpin’s reaction to her death.

………………………………………………………………………..

Overall, this was okay. It’s not bad but it isn’t one of the better trades in the series. A part of me feels like Bendis was filling in space for some of this. Maybe he didn’t want to go all out with these issues since we’re coming up on a turning point for the series. Let’s just say that some serious stuff goes down in the next big story arc. Next time, I’ll be looking at the Clone Saga… the Ultimate Clone Saga. Besides, it’s Sci-Fi Month as well, so you know clones need to be involved! Until then, Peace, God Bless, and don’t toy with your women.

Trade Tales! - Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 15 - Silver Sable

Wow, it's been a while. Between working days, getting used to my PS4, and doing other things, posting has been a little challenging. Then, there’s the fact that the views on my recent posts are all screwed up and crap. I know I ain't that popular and I did ask about it. Darn spammers. Oh well, it’s time to move on and get back in the swing of things. Since Spider-Man: Homecoming is making his way down the red carpet with Christina Hendricks at his side, I think it’s time to return to the Ultimate Universe for a bit. Besides, it seems this new Spidey is looking to be more and more based off that universe especially when Miles Morales is involved. Weird.

Silver Sable is the title for this latest volume. It contains Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1 as well as Ultimate Spider-Man #86-90. We more or less have the same team on this one. BMB is writing and Mark Bagley is handling pencils. We do get another penciller for the annual issue and that is artist Mark Brooks. The inks were handled by Scott Hanna, John Dell, and Jamie Mendoza. So, let's see Peter win some and lose some.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 15: Silver Sable

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis

Pencils: Mark Bagley and Mark Brooks (Annual #1)

Inks: Scott Hanna, John Dell, and Jamie Mendoza (Annual #1)

Colors: Justin Ponsor and Dave Stewart (Annual #1)

Letters: Chris Eliopoulos and Cory Petit 

Favorites –16 TV Shows That Ended Too Soon

With everything that’s going on these days, we may have something pretty good to look forward too: another season of Young Justice. This was one show that I felt got cut down too soon. It ended with a crapload of stuff left to talk about. When you have the Lord of Apokalips show up in the last minute of your show, you better do something with it! I hate it when shows get cut off too soon. It definitely sucks when they’re just one season in. Even when it’s lasted for a few years, something happens and it’s gone like a fart in the wind or something.

So, here are a few shows that went away too soon. If you notice some popular underrated shows missing, that’s because I can only do so much. Besides, Pushing Daisies didn’t sound like my thing. There were a couple of shows that went away before I could get invested in them like Almost Human and a couple of others. Whether they were animated or live-action, there have been ones that I was pretty sad to see go. The list isn’t in complete order, but the first few are ones that I still feel jaded on.